Brush making machine



J. PETRONE 2250;812

BRUSH MAKING MACHINE Filed June 22, 1.940

WAK- AL INVENTOR.

ATTORNEY.

Patented July 29, 1941 UN I TE res PATENT orrics BRUSH MAKING MACHINE James Petrone, Westfield, Mass, assignor to Stanley Home Products, Inc., Westfield, Mass.

This invention relates to improvements in forming or making apparatus and is directed more particularly to an improved apparatus or machine for making or forming brushes.

It is one of the principal objects of the invention to provide a simple and inexpensive apparatus adapted to facilitate the manufacture of brushes of the type which includes a bristle support usually consisting of a length of Wire or the like and wherein the said support is bent intermediate its opposite ends to have a more or less oval or circular frame or body portion and to have said opposite ends substantially in adjacencyfor association in a handle. That is to say, the apparatus of the invention is adapted to form a brush where opposite end portions of a bristle support are brought into adjacency and where said support consists of one or more spring-like wires, the intermediate or central part of said support carrying the bristles and. the end portions for insertion and securernent in a handle.

As a special feature of the invention, I provide a forming apparatus which permits manual engagement of the bristle support by the operator and also provides for the operator to actuate, as by his foot, mechanism which will serve to complete the forming operation. This is to be contrasted with all of the practice heretofore known to me whereby the bristle support is formed by manual engagement alone.

As will appear, the apparatus of the invention is positive and efficient in operation, even though relatively simple in construction, and it may be readily operated with satisfaction.

With the foregoing and various other novel features and advantages and other objects of my invention as will become more apparent as the description proceeds, the invention consists in certain novel features of construction and in the combination and arrangement of parts as will be hereinafter more particularly pointed out in the claims hereunto annexed and more fully described and referred to in connection with the Fig. 4 is an elevational view of the apparatus of theinvention;

Fig. 5 is a sectional View on the line.55 of Fig.

Fig. 6 is a small scale elevaticnal view to'show 1 one form of operating mechanism.

Referring now to the drawing more in detail, the invention will be fully described.

There is a supporting structure of. some kind and according to the construction shown in the drawing this takes the form of a table 2 having downwardly-depending legs or supports 4. Within' the table, which preferably has a flat upper surface, is a plate member 6 having a flat upper surface co-planar with said surface of the table.

I provide upstanding dowel and anvil members, which will be described, and which may be fixed to the plate but are preferably adjustable relative thereto. As shown, a primary, or forward, dowel member I2 and a secondary or rear dowel member M, are provided and each has an upwardly extending body part which preferably may vary in diameter according to the curve or bend it is desired to give to the body of the bristle support.

As stated, said dowels are preferably relatively adjustable so that brushes of various lengths may. be accommodated and, according to the disclosure, said members are carried by screw members it having heads slidable in an elongated '7 slot Hi provided in said plate and threaded ends.

J'ustment between distances between the two V dowelsand between said dowels and an anvil (to be described), brushes of various shapes may be formed.

In order that the purposes and advantages of such features will be more clear, I will now describe the initial steps in operation of the apparatus.

A bristle support S, consisting of a length of wire or of two or more lengths of wire suitably associated as by intertwining, and carrying bristles B, is disposed with respect to the primary 7 dowel as shown in Fig, 1. The operator may then bend, usually by hand, the support so that the intermediate body part assumes aframe-like i contour and the opposite ends thereof may-then bebrought into engagement with opposite sides" of, and extend beyond the rear side of, the sec;

That'is to say, by provid ondary dowel M, as indicated by dot-dash lines in Fig. 1.

Since, as above pointed out, the diameters of the forming parts of the dowels are variable and the distance therebetween is adjustable, it will be appreciated that the shape or contour of the body or bristle-carrying part of the bristle support may thus be varied at will. It is necessary, however, that the opposite end portions of the wire or wires B be urged into substantial parallelism and adjacency in order that they may be inserted into a bore or opening of a handle, wherein they are usually secured, while the part of said support above its extremities should not be in contact butopen.

Accordingly, I provide means whereby the bristle support may be so acted upon, as it is being manually held in engagement with the dowels in the manner just described, that the said opposite end portions thereof assume the desired relation with respect to the shaped, bristle-carrying frame of the support. This means, in a broad way, consists of what I call forming members which are movable so as to engage and act upon the same in such a manner as to cause it to become crimped so that the body and ends are relatively positioned as required.

I have found it desirable to provide some support for the ends of the member S when it is being acted upon by the forming members and, to this end, there is shown what I call an anvil member l6 rearwardly of the secondary dowel l4. This anvil may be associated with the plate 6 in the same manner as the dowels and preferably is adjustable forwardly and rearwardly relative thereto to permit forming of brushes of different sizes and shapes.

In any event, said anvil will include an upstanding part, as shown, against the opposite sides of which the ends of the support S may bear. It will be appreciated that the anvils position relative to the dowels and the formers may vary depending upon the degree of crimping desired, size and shape of brush, etc.

Depending downwardly from the table are a '3 pair of spaced brackets 20 which preferably have the channel formation shown in Fig. 2. Each of these brackets has a hub member 22 pivoted therein as indicated at 24.

Said hub members 22 carry lever members 26 which in turn carry the formers above mentioned indicated by 28. That is to say, the formers 28 are arranged for relative pivotal movement towards and away from one another and towards and away from the work.

The levers are preferably more or less horseshoe shaped and extend upwardly through slots provided in either the table or plate or both all as shown. I prefer that the formers 28 be separate from the levers so as to be capable of adjustment relative thereto, as by means of slots 35 and screws 32 therein, which, as is obvious, permits the formers to be moved into adjusted positions relative to the work upon which they are to act.

There are, on oppositely disposed supports 4 and below the table 2, spaced brackets 48 which have associated therewith clips &2. The spaced clips 42 receive opposite ends of a shaft 44 and said brackets, clips, and shaft may be suitably secured together as by a bolt 46.

Spaced levers 51? are arranged to rock on said shaft 44 and these carry on forward ends thereof a horizontally-extending cross bar made up of members 52 and 54 spaced apart to provide a slot 53 therebetween. Preferably such spaced members 52 and 54 are provided with a series 01' spaced openings therethrough adjacent opposite ends thereof, the openings 90 in member 52 being aligned with those in part 54.

Then between the members 52 and 54 are spaced block members 58 which may be held in the slot 56 by screws 92 extending through aligned openings 90 and the blocks. Thus the blocks are movable between, and securable in, adjusted positions relative to one another.

Extending upwardly from these blocks 58 are rods 62 and these have on their upper ends clevises 64, to which clevises are pivoted the inner or adjacent ends of links 56 and 68. The outer ends of the outer links 66 are preferably pivoted to brackets 69 fixed to the support in spaced relation as by bolts or screws 69' and the other ends of the links 68 are pivoted to the levers as indicated.

It will thus be seen that upward movement of a rod 62 will cause said pair of links to straighten out, that is move more or less into co-planar position so as to cause the lever to swing on its pivot and move inwardly in the direction of the work being operated upon. While the construction may obviously vary, I have shown the levers as consisting of U-shaped members, each having a former on one end and its other end attached to a piece 70 either integral with the pivoted hub 22 or secured thereby as by bolts 15'.

One, at least, of the levers 55 has an extension i2, extending outwardly therefrom as shown in Figs. 5 and 6. A bracket-like member 14 may be supported on the floor or other surface supporting the apparatus and this will have pivoted thereto, as indicated by 76, one end of a treadle member 18.

The other end of said treadle has a footengaging portion, such as 80, and intermediate the said opposite ends of the treadle there is a bracket 82. Pivoted to this last-mentioned bracket is the lower end of a connecting rod 84, which may obviously vary in form and the upper end of said rod 84 is pivoted, as at 86, to said extension 12.

The construction is therefore such that the operator may press downwardly on the treadle part 88 with his foot so as to bring about movement of the forming members relative to the work being acted upon so as to crimp the same in the manner desired. It will be understood that simultaneously with such crimping step the bristle support is probably being manually held by the operator in preferred relation with respect to dowel members which possess the desired dimensions, etc.

With the bristle support extending downwardly at the sides of dowels l2 and M and with the ends adjacent member IS, the formers, as they move inwardly, engage the bristle support ends adjacent dowel l4 and crimp or bend the same inwardly, as shown by dot-dash lines in Fig. 1.

While I have described the invention in great detail and with respect to the present preferred form thereof, it is not desired to be limited thereto since changes and modifications may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. The invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the essential characteristics thereof. The present embodiments are therefore to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive, the scope of the invention being indicated by the appended claims rather than by the foregoing description, and all changes which come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are therefore intended to be embraced therein.

What it is desired to claim and secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. A brush-making machine comprising in combination, a support, a dowel member extending upwardly therefrom, a pair of spaced forming members having brush engaging portions pivoted to said support for moving towards and away from one another and said dowel member in planes at an angle to one another, means for simultaneously moving said pivoted members, and means for adjusting said pivoted members relative to said support.

2. A brush making machine comprising in combination, a support, an anvil and a dowel extending upwardly from said support, forming members having forward brush engaging edges and pivoted to said support on certain axes for swinging movements between brush engaging positions where their edges are adjacent said dowel and anvil and non-engaging positions, the said axes being in angularly disposed planes whereby the forming members swing in angularly disposed planes, and means for simultaneously swinging said forming members.

3. A brush making machine comprising in combination, a support, an anvil and a dowel extending upwardly therefrom for supporting a brush in a forming operation, swingable brush forming members having brush engaging portions, pivotal connections between said support and forming members arranged whereby the brush engaging portions of the forming members swing in angularly disposed planes between brush engaging position between and at opposite sides of said anvil and dowel and non-engaging position away therefrom, and interconnected operating means for simultaneously swinging said forming members.

4. A brush making machine comprising in combination, a support, an anvil and a dowel extending upwardly therefrom for supporting a brush in a forming operation, swingable brush forming members having brush engaging portions, pivotal connections between said support and forming members arranged whereby the brush engaging portions of the forming members swing in angularly disposed planes between brush engaging position between and at opposite sides of said anvil and dowel and non-engaging position away therefrom, and. interconnected operating means for simultaneously swinging said forming members, said operating means including adjustable means whereby the degree of the swinging movements of said forming members may be varied.

5. A brush making machine comprising in combination, a support, an anvil and a dowel extending upwardly therefrom for supporting a brush in a forming operation, swingable brush forming members having brush engaging portions, pivotal connections between said support and forming members arranged whereby the brush engaging portions of the forming members swing in angularly disposed planes between JAMES PETRONE. 

